Just do what you do best. -- Red Auerbach

A wall of great quotations as you enter the VICTORY exhibit.

"Just do what you do best." Words of wisdom from the one and only Red Auerbach, the Celtics' legendary stogie smoking coach. My friends at The Sports Museum in Boston have done just that--what they do best--in their new exhibition at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Titled VICTORY, the exhibition showcases some of the greatest moments not only in Boston sports history, but American history. From Jim Craig's 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Olympic hockey jersey and goalie mask to the astonishing quantity of Johnny Kelly's loving cups, trophies, and commemorative medals, the spoils of VICTORY are beautifully displayed. It's hard not to be moved by the wall-sized graphic of father-son marathoning team Dick and Rick Hoyt as they cross the finish line of the 2006 Boston Marathon. Equally sobering is the small display honoring Tony Conigliaro (Tony C) and the horrific injury that cut short a promising career.

Galleries are devoted to all Boston's (and greater New England) beloved teams--the Boston Celtics, the Bruins, Red Sox, and New England Patriots. You can't help but feel like you're momentarily transported to an early autumn afternoon at Fenway Park or the old Boston Garden when you pass an old Red Sox bleacher seat or stand near the parquet floor that was the site of so many great Celtics victories. A theatre area with videos that recall our favorite sporting memories, aptly named for the early 2000s "Decade of Dominance," allows guests to re-live great victories from the various teams.

I was lucky enough to be able to spend a day helping out with the installation (read as: I put hook-and-loop on the backsides of several pieces of foamcore for mounting) and get some behind the scenes details. Sully, one of the superb team at Foxwoods, took me on a "lighting" tour of the various galleries.   If you do visit, pay attention to how beautifully lit the entire exhibit is. Sully and his team--more accustomed to lighting Craig Ferguson or a Celtic Woman performance--are true artists and went above and beyond in crafting the illumination and effects within the exhibit. There's the cute Blue Spruce trees behind a Celtics themed cow (yes, you read that right) and a fiery light that floods down on General Patton's bronze statue. (If you're wondering, "why Patton?" he was a very accomplished equestrian and competed in the 1912 Olympic Pentathlon for the USA.) Fireworks explode over the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox wall graphic and the 24 second clock lighting looks terribly official.

My stellar contribution...the hook-and-loop mountings for
the programs. Executed to perfection by Ethan from
Cambridge Seven Associates. 

Though I'm not an aficionado of The Sweet Science, Boston has a great boxing tradition and Rocky Marciano and many other boxing legends are well represented here. As are the Olympic Games. Though I prefer to claim the 1980 Olympic team as mostly Minnesotan (and lead by favorite Minnesota son, the late Herb Brooks) I will concede--for this exhibit only--their strong New England connection. I'd also wager most of you have never seen Ted Williams' Red Sox locker. It's on display, too.

And then there's the opportunity to see some great sculptures. If you've never stood up close and personal and studied the work of the incredible Armand La Montagne, do so. La Montagne's life-sized basswood sculptures of Ted Williams, Yaz, Larry Bird, Harry Agganis, Bobby Orr and General George S. Patton are all part of the installation. The detail--down to the ribbing in Bobby Orr's socks--is not to be believed. There are also several of the large painted studies that La Montagne does for each subject on display as well as a video about his process.

Armand La Montagne's life-sized sculpture of Bobby Orr. 

The Sports Museum plays a vital role in preserving and teaching the important lessons of sport. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and in addition to saving important artifacts of our sporting history, they promote and sponsor stay in school programs and anti-bullying campaigns in the Boston area. This exhibition is a chance to highlight some of their many treasures and to broaden their outreach across New England.

Re-live your most iconic sporting memories or introduce your children and grandchildren to the legends of New England sports--a trip to the VICTORY exhibit at Foxwoods Resort and Casino will do your heart good. And you're helping a great cause: passing on the value of sport to a new generation and assisting the preservation of irreplaceable sporting history that the Sports Museum is dedicated to. It's a winning proposition if there ever was one.

There are many more photos over on my flickr page at... http://www.flickr.com/photos/papertyger/sets/72157631698513333/

And here are the details for VICTORY --
Foxwoods Resort and Casino
Mashantucket, Connecticut
Great Cedar Exhibition Hall, Great Cedar Hotel Lobby
September 27, 2012 - January 27, 2013
Adults - 15$, Children 10$ and Seniors 12$
Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 8pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 10pm

Old Ironsides

There's a scene in Now, Voyager (which, if either of you have paid any attention, is clearly a major point of reference in my existence and development) where Bette Davis's mother, the Brahmin Mrs. Vale, asks her daughter, "Could we try to remember that we're hardly commercial travelers?" The implication being that they were NOT tourists and would not be partaking in anything remotely "touristy."

I certainly try to blend in wherever I am, and I endeavor above all things to never be the "ugly American tourist," but I sometimes am careless about not being a tourist in my own backyard. I'm naturally curious (downright nosey, some might say) and when I was employed in a small county historical society I used to preach (can I hear an Amen??) about the benefits of what people now have termed a "staycation." I would proselytize about the values of our little gem of a museum and Mayowood Mansion to all who would listen.

I'd venture that most of us don't go to the landmarks and special places in our own backyards as often as we could, unless we have friends or relatives to show around. I was the same way in NYC. I of course frequented the Met, the Frick and the Morgan Library, but I didn't go to the top of the Empire State Building or the observation deck of the WTC building until I had a guest. I was too busy doing other things. (As an aside, we went to the top of the WTC in mid-August of 2001...and I'm so glad we did and that I had the chance to experience that unforgettable view.)

The same is true of my life these days. I'm a frequent museum visitor at the MFA and Wadsworth Athenaeum and I've practically got a reserved spot with my name on it at a few beaches, but I've not visited as many of the historical sites around the area as I'd like to. (People would also tell you that American history isn't my passion--and it isn't, really. I'm more of a medieval, European girl, but that's for another day.)

A couple of months ago my father informed me of an exhibition of model ships on display at the USS Constitution Museum in Boston and asked if I'd take some pics, etc. sometime when I was up there. I happily agreed and finally, today, after a decade of living on the east coast, I paid my respects to Old Ironsides.

There could have been no nicer day to visit the Charlestown Navy Yard--and on a crackerjack day such as this, the water does beckon. I'm a firm believer that no time spent on the water (or on horseback) is wasted, so today was most enjoyable.

                                       

Old Ironsides herself is really something, a real beauty. But I have to say I really learned a lot at the museum that was next door. They have great stuff for kids to do and you can pretend you're a 19th century sailor (even if you're a grownup!) and get a good feel for the era. The gentlemen who were manning the model exhibition couldn't have been nicer. They let me snap many photos that will be shipped off to my father on Monday and were happy to answer/explain my silly non-model-maker questions. 

And the views from this part of Boston are beautiful. I couldn't help notice, as we looked back at the city skyline and the Zakim bridge in the background, how much the rigging and sails of the USS Constitution must have inspired the design of the bridge. I know there are several similar cable bridges around the world, but when viewed from the Charlestown Navy Yard, the bridge and ship's rigging and masts look to be shadowy and distant relatives of one another. 

                                        

                                        

If you enlarge the lower image, you can see the rigging and masts of Old Ironsides on the left hand side, and the two towers of the Zakim bridge on either side of the visitor center. 

To tie my entire little tale into a neat package, I've always sort of felt the Mrs. Vale character in Now, Voyager, was probably about as indestructible and unyielding as the USS Constitution and she could easily have been nicknamed Old Ironsides, to boot.

Electric Slide(s)

A little visual accompaniment to the stormy weather...here's a great collection of images online at the Boston Globe.

Poring over the coast for the best bugs in butter...

Poring over the coast for the best bugs in butter - The Boston Globe

Shout out to the CT lobster roll in all its glory!!

Boston's Mounted Unit Disbands

I'd heard rumblings of this happening a few months ago, but here is another equine victim of the economy. The mounted unit of the BPD has disbanded.

Here's a sad video of the horses and their last ride. The horses are apparently headed to various places, including to the NYPD. One older woman, who laments this loss, remarks that the horses don't want to go to NY. A fantastically Bostonian remark. I loved seeing this unit as I'd walk through the Public Garden or the Common and they will be sorely missed. One of the members of the crowd notes that for some kids, these are the only "live/in person" horses they get to see, and that's even sadder.

There's a nice article on WBZ that includes links to a petition if anyone out there is inclined to sign on as well as an organization called Mintformounts.org that is actively fundraising for the BP Mounted Unit.